Falcons bringing training camp back home

FLOWERY BRANCH - The Falcons are coming home to roost in what's expected to be an economic boon to the Gainesville area.

The Falcons are leaving Furman University - where they have conducted summer training for the past six years - and beginning next year will conduct all their pre-season training at the team's four-year-old headquarters and training facility at Flowery Branch.

Thousands of fans flock to training camp each summer, and local leaders are hoping this will have an impact on the area.

The decision had hinged on approval by the Flowery Branch City Council on expansion of the Falcons' complex to include a dormitory to house the players during their training. That approval was given Wednesday night.

``This decision was driven by our desire to bring Falcons training camp closer to our fans and families and to allow more of them to participate in this exciting event,'' team owner Arthur Blank said Thursday.

Blank said the move ``will make it more convenient for our players families to visit and watch practice and for our support staff to do their jobs. It will also allow our coaches and staff to go home at night to be with their families.''

The Falcons begin their final camp at Furman on July 27.

They plan to start construction on dormitory facilities at Flowery Branch in October and expand the current dining facilities, with plans to complete the work in June 2005.

From 1979 to 1998, the team trained at its former headquarters in nearby Suwanee, about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta. Prior to that, the club held camp in Black Mountain, N.C., in 1966 and Johnson City, Tenn., from 1967 to 1970, then moved to Furman for eight years.